Behind the scenes at The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat, UK

Few spas can boast a mesmerising glitterball towering over a Roman bath swimming pool, complete with built-in fireplace! And unique touches don’t stop there at The Galgorm Collection’s newest offering, The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat. This dramatic refurbishment is the result of a £10 million [€12 million] investment in the 33-bedroom boutique hotel and spa in Templepatrick, Co Antrim.

More than £2 million has gone into the outdoor spa experience, with attractions including the Roman bath, a Swedish sauna, hot tubs, a halotherapy salt chamber and an aroma steam room. A first for Ireland, The Relaxation Burrow offers a heated pebble beach with lakeside bar; cabanas with heated waterbeds; and a sunken lounge for laid-back luxury.

Many environmentally friendly details are in-built, from the use of locally sourced food and drink to 100% waste and water conservation, LED lights, refillable bathroom supplies and wireless heat systems. Plans are currently progressing to install new liquid pool covers to conserve water and heat in the Roman baths and hot tubs.

Environmentally friendly exercise Construction of a £250,000 state-of-the-art fitness suite is underway, scheduled to open later this year. In homage to its woodland surroundings, The Rabbit will be the first spa hotel in Ireland to exclusively stock NOHrD gym equipment, manufactured in Germany using sustainable materials.

Guests enjoy a relaxing break at The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat

Four treatment rooms are due to open in the summer, offering personalised facials from IMAGE Skincare and nurturing body treatments by Germaine de Capuccini that focus on serenity, detoxing and energising.

“Following a £2 million investment in an outdoor spa area, the final phase of the Relaxation Burrow outdoor spa is soon to complete,” says Lynsey Gordon, general manager at The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat. “Our unrivalled facilities include our showstopping Roman baths, tranquil halotherapy chambers and lakeside beach complete with heated pebbles.”

The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat

www.rabbithotel.com

@therabbit_hotel

USP: An open-air spa with a unique heated pebble beach, the only one of its kind in Ireland

Suppliers: Germaine de Capuccini, IMAGE Skincare Product partners: NOHrD Designers: Galgorm Collection Architect: Cheath Roth Construction company: Hugh J O’Boyle